Casting a Wide Net: Applied Computational Thinking Office of STEM Education Partnerships innovate, educate, collaborate This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF grant CNS However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation. Building interest and proficiency in computational thinking in STEM About Us Modeling projectile motion with Angry Birds! Teachers interacting during our 2-day workshop PIs: Michael Horn, Kemi Jona, Vicky Kalogera, Laura Trouille, Uri Wilensky Research Faculty: Kai Orton Graduate Students: Elham Beheshti, David Weintrop High School Lead Teachers: Ami Lefevre, Tim Miller, Mark Vondracek See Reverse for more info on our Activities Our Program Define Computational Thinking for STEM disciplines Develop Computational Thinking in STEM assessments Create Computational Thinking activities that can be embedded in existing high school STEM courses Document Computational Thinking learning and attitudinal gains Create a pipeline to the new AP CS Principles course Impact a broad cross-section of students, including under- represented groups Engage 45 teachers and over 1000 high-school students and teachers in Computational Thinking activities Conduct professional development workshops on how to bring Computational Thinking into STEM classrooms

For access to curricular materials, please visit Northwestern University Computational Thinking in STEM High-School Hour Lesson Plans Physics:CT-STEM SkillsNGSS PracticesStudents… Angry Birds2,4,5,8model physical systems and investigate 2-D equations of motion for projectiles Ohm’s Law2,3,5,6generate and analyze data on current/resistance using tabletop experiments and simulations Resonance2,5,8apply an inquiry approach to understanding resonance using PhET models Modifying Code2,3,4,5learn programming basics by investigating gravitational forces and orbits in NetLogo Math: NetLogo Rugby2,3,4,5use modeling software to generate data and develop Rugby strategies Census Data2,3,4,5,8model U.S. census housing data with computational tools and mathematic equations Drake Equation1,3,5,8use probability to estimate the likelihood of life on other planets Flowcharts5,6,8design algorithms and solve problems by creating flowcharts Chemistry: iLab Radioactivity # 3,4,5,8study radioactive diffusion by remotely running experiments with a real Geiger counter NetLogo Rusting * 2,3,4,5,8investigate how different factors affect the chemical process of rusting at a molecular level Gas Laws2,4,5,6use computer simulations and data analysis tools to uncover the gas laws Atomic Motion2,4,5,8use the Molecular Workbench toolkit to study emergent phenomena in matter Biology: DNA Sequencing2,5,6study and apply the “Shotgun Algorithm” that was used to sequence the human genome Competition * 2,4,5,6,8explore producer/consumer interactions in an ecosystem using NetLogo Hardy-Weinberg2,4,5investigate how different variables affect the genetics of a population with NetLogo Evolution Trees2,3,4,5,8study the similarities/differences between gene sequences of different animals Data Analysis Modeling & Simulation Computer Science Problem Solving Systems Thinking 1. Asking questions and defining problems 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions 7. Engaging in argument from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating, communicating information Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Practices: Computational Thinking in STEM Skills: * Activities developed by the Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling # Activities developed by Office of STEM Education Partnerships